The Shell V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally 2025 is upon us and so is the dust, the cows, the zebras, and your cousin who still thinks rally cars have AC. This year’s route isn’t just a rally; it’s a full safari, adventure movie, and stress test for both drivers and co-drivers. We’re breaking down the stages so you know when to cheer, when to scream, and when to pray for your favorite crew’s suspension system.
1. Robert Rukaari – 6.11km
The Robert Rukaari stage kicks things off like your over-enthusiastic uncle at a wedding dance floor—short, wild, and full of surprises. Nestled right next to the service park like it’s eavesdropping on tyre pressure gossip, this 6.11km hooligan of a stage is compact but trickier than a toddler with a permanent marker. Crews will need to bring their A-game and possibly a spare set of nerves as the sharp corners come at you like plot twists in a Mexican soap opera. The terrain? Slightly bumpy—just enough to shake your bones loose and make co-drivers regret last night’s chapati. Two chicanes lie in wait like those sneaky relatives who only show up when there’s food, demanding surgical driving precision. As if that’s not enough, the stage borrows part of the Lukali Superstage and rudely spills onto the main road like it owns the place. Short inter-distance handling is key here, which means the nimble R5 cars will be dancing through while the rest try not to embarrass themselves. If rallying had a “hold my drink” moment, this stage is it.
2. Kaguta – 23.28km
A true spectacle for fans and a mild heart attack for drivers, the Kaguta stage launches from Akageti Trading Centre like it’s late for a shift. This stage is a 100% closed-road rollercoaster designed by someone who clearly thought, “How much chaos is too much? Let’s find out.” Spectators are in for a treat you can spot up to three cars flying by at once, like a rally version of bumper cars but with more horsepower and less forgiveness. It kicks off with a glorious flat-out straight that says, “Go ahead, show us how brave you think you are,” before rudely swerving into bumps, loose gravel, and enough dust to make you question if the Sahara just relocated to Uganda. Drivers will need to treat corner entry like a first date slow down, read the room, or risk being launched into the bushes by one of the stage’s surprise brows. Oh, and just to spice things up, the stage cuts through a patch of national parkland yes, you read that right. Which means you could be flat in sixth gear only to find a zebra side-eyeing your split times. It’s not just a rally stage it’s a full-blown wildlife documentary with engine noise and bad decisions.
3. Ankole Cow – 19.2km
Welcome to the Ankole Cow stage, where horsepower meets actual cows and both are equally confused. This 19.2km beast rips through parkland so wild it makes the Jungle Book look like a retirement home. Think high speeds, loose gravel, random trenches, and the ever-present possibility of an Ankole bull locking eyes with your bumper like it’s defending its turf. It’s fully closed to traffic, but nature didn’t get the memo zebras, antelopes and Mzee Museveni’s runaway cows have all been spotted trackside offering moral support (or judging your cornering lines). The final 10km? Absolute madness. Speeds go from “this is fine” to “does my co-driver have life insurance?” as they fly into a spectator zone at the Akageti factory, where fans are known to scream, cheer, and occasionally offer advice louder than the engines. With animals, dust clouds, and a surface that changes its mood every 50 meters, this stage isn’t just about who’s fastest it’s about who survives with all four wheels and zero hoof marks on the door.
4. Charles Muhangi – 18.11km
The Charles Muhangi stage—named after the late rally king himself is a fitting tribute: fast, fearsome, and full of “did-we-just-do-that?” moments. This stage doesn’t care if you’re a champion or just someone with a helmet and a dream it demands mental ninja skills from the driver and the vocal clarity of a radio DJ from the co-driver. Things kick off with a tight, twisty track that feels like threading your rally car through a drinking straw. Drivers will be praying their mirrors fold in and their nerves hold out. But just when you’re about to send a resignation letter to your gearbox, the route opens up after 7km into a high-speed stretch that screams, “Let’s gooo!” until it doesn’t. Then the stage sucker-punches you with off-road grass tracks that are sneakier than a boda boda squeezing through jam in Kampala. These lines are so misleading, even GPS would throw its hands up and say, “You’re on your own.” There are jumps so subtle you don’t see them until you’re airborne, and brows that pop up like plot twists in a telenovela. It’s a mind game, a trust fall, and a high-speed gamble all rolled into one. Pacenotes aren’t just helpful here they’re sacred scrolls. Get them right, and you’re a hero. Get them wrong, and you’re explaining to your mechanic why your car now resembles modern art.
5. Moses Lumala – 20.29km
The Moses Lumala stage—this is where the “pedal to the metal” saying isn’t just a figure of speech, it’s a survival strategy. After some recent TLC (and by TLC, we mean heavy-duty grading), this stage has widened up like it’s on a diet, and now it’s ready for not one, not two, but THREE cars to race side by side without sending each other to the moon. Starting in Sanga and blasting through to Biharwe over a blistering 20.29km, this stage is the rally equivalent of an espresso shot straight to the heart.
It’s a reversed version of an NRC stage that gave crews nightmares in the opening round, and now it’s back for more, like that one friend who refuses to leave the party. The stage is packed with long straights so flat-out you’ll wonder if gravity took the day off. Two of them are over 1km long—long enough to think about your life choices, check the speedometer, and then panic when you realize you’re doing 160km/h with a jump coming up. And let’s talk about those jumps and brows: they’re so fast and sneaky, even the most seasoned drivers will wonder if they just got pranked by the course designer.
R5 cars are the usual suspects here, but with this much open space and speed, even the trusty old Group N machines might get a shot at glory provided they don’t lose the rear end when the car catches air like a stunt double in a James Bond movie. Either way, this stage is a 20km-long test of how much throttle you can handle before you realize your heart rate is higher than your lap time.
The 2025 Shell V-Power Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally is basically the motorsport equivalent of a high-speed buffet tight, technical corners served with a side of blistering straightaways, all garnished with unpredictable gravel and a sprinkle of wildlife. Picture this: one minute you’re navigating a corner so tight it could be a yoga pose, and the next, you’re hurtling down a straight so fast even your car’s thoughts are in overdrive.
Uganda’s diverse terrain is like that one crazy relative who shows up to every family gathering with a new stunt: one minute, you’re dodging wild animals like you’re in a nature documentary, the next you’re sliding through gravel that seems to change its mind every 100 meters. Throw in some jaw-dropping vistas so dramatic even the scenery will stop to take a selfie, and you’ve got yourself a rally that’s as unpredictable as a toddler with a paintbrush.
For drivers, it’s a test of precision, guts, and maybe some wild animal dodging skills. For fans, it’s going to be an unforgettable motorsport showcase with a few heart-stopping moments, a lot of speed, and hopefully no giraffes taking selfies with the cars.
